While this is certainly true if only REAPER and REA-plugins are used, it becomes case-by-case thing if other plugins are used, especially "analog-modelled." So it does make sense to watch out for proper levels at all times. Thankfully multiple volume control points in REAPER make it very easy.

Wow, just...wow! I've been using Reaper for years just for home demos and such. However, I'm recording a project as requested by a group of clients and realized how handicapped I am by my lack of fundamentals. This has been so helpful and your explanations are clear and your presentation is clean. Thank you so much. I look forward to learning more about my DAW from you.

That piano line is beating in my head since yesterday

You can't always rely on fixing peaks with this method, because a lot of plugins treat the incoming signal according to the momentary level values (comps, exciters, impulse responses...). If the plugin is designed for dynamic content and your incoming signal peaks a lot or worse, its always red, then the plugin fails to provide the color which it was designed for. Peaks around -6dB and a loudness around -23LUFS or 0 LU are considered to be safe. The SWS extension has actions to set the loudness, or normalize peaks on media items, however you will have to set the levels manually if you use MIDI for synthesizers/samplers. SWS/BR: Normalize loudness of selected items to -23 LUFS SWS/BR: Normalize loudness of selected items to 0 LU You can set one of these actions to for example SHIFT+Double Click on Media Item or whatever you prefer in the Mouse Modifiers... This is the first thing I do whenever I bring a sample into a project.

This explains something I was shocked by last night. I had my guitar into an amp sim and that track was clipping (after the amp sim, not on guitar input), but as long as the master bus wasn't clipping, I could not hear any distortion or clipping sound in my headphones. I was sure my hearing was wrong, but this video confirms it!

WOW!!! Kenny... your a frik'n beast at tutorials!!! Your the "Neil deGrass Tyson" of Audio educator!! Seriously.. no one comes close to your level of turning complicated subjects into simplistic understanding...

You killed everyone with this video, Kenny! Outstanding.

Thanks Kenny So helpful, everytime I apply things from your tutorials, my mix become so clean, so pure, it goes where I really want to go.

To my understanding, unlike analog, this isn't a signal chain. Each plugin is just adding a series of algorithms to the original signal and those numbers could cancel out numbers that come before it because reaper is just combining the plugins in a single equation. But other plugins added into reaper may not do this necessarily. They may take the input signal and then output an entirely new, separate signal. In which case, if gain is an issue, you can always use the Reaper volume plugin before and/or after the plugin that's causing a problem, if input/output gain aren't editable parameters in the plugin.

Before I start mixing I just set the Volume plug-in at -6.9 on all tracks, mix and adjust levels as needed. Works out pretty good for me.

4:46 Is my favourite part of this video :D Made my day :D Thanks! Bytheway the knowledge Kenny shared in this tutorial is priceless. Thank you Sir! It is painful to realize, how much time I wasted setting up every individual track's volume not to clip.

I've watched about a half dozen of your videos today and have learned a lot. Please keep up the good work.

Makes me wonder if you ever accidentaly pressed play before you cut the signal again by 100 db... although out of experience I can say that Reaper luckily just mutes the master in that case.

I've found your video to set 'pre-fader meters' but gladly found this explaining i dont need to for gain staging

I wish that the Cockos team would add a gain/trim knob or some pre-gain slider to the tracks kinda like Cubase. I have set the JS Volume Adjustment plug-in as default for new tracks but it's still very slow to open them one by one and set the gain. I know it's possible to show plug-in parameters in the mixer but you can't show parameters and sends/receives at the same time :( JS Volume is the only plug-in that I would need to see the parameters for so it feels dumb to sacrifice all that screen estate for the parameters of just one plug-in I only use at the start of a project. A simple, small gain/trim knob or slider would improve workflow immensely!

Very useful video! Keep up the good content Kenny, we all appreciate it!

Nice job as usual Kenny, but I would have liked to have heard you explain to the noobies just how floating point arithmetic is different to fixed point arithmetic, and how these extremes (as demonstrated in this video) will bite you on the ass pretty hard if your system is based on fixed point math, or if any of your (non-Reaper) plugins aren't based on floating point math.

This is because it's working in a 64 b FP algorythm. You have to do this same test with non-stock plugins and see why this is not a good idea. Gain staging is part of recording all the way into mastering. You have some other really cool videos, but this is making people that have no idea of audio understand something that really is not the way to go. Because of distorsion, CPU stressing, understanding voltages, etc...

This originated with protools when it used 48bit integer instead of floating point.

Man! I really needed this knowledge! I just started learning in mixing my own drum takes and even though levels are good in the individual tracks. The Master Track is still clipping, with this. I can finally adjust the final mix! :D Thank you, Kenny!

But then you couldn't listen to the track in solo?

This is not the way one should work. - Analog modeled plugins need proper input levels - When exporting individual tracks they should have a reasonable level - So, a proper gain staging on every stage is desirable

All in Reaper and no third party plugs needed. Excellent tutorial

Never knew Reaper had this much volume control. Many thanks!

Thanks Kenny! I kinda was doing d same thing (just the master gain stage as the relative track levels were good) I needed this reaffirmation from you, now I feel good 😊

I keep discovering these little gems.

Really enjoy your work. Thanks for the time and effort. BRAVO!

I love in chat groups when they ask your top 5 plugins or so. Just realise I should include the Reaper "Volume" plugin next time. Use it all the time and it often saves my butt.

im new with this and i want to learn more. im kind of missing the point here. why overload a track and just end up negate it on the way out? why not just fix it on the first level anyway?

The concept here is correct, but the term is "clipping," not "distorting." And technically, it isn't even clipping due to the floating point math. I personally don't like seeing clip indicators lit up, but if it sounds good, to each their own.

I think that's fine with strictly digital plugins. However, with plugins emulating hardware, they will distort. I did not gain stage a project and was hearing distortion. I sent some time chasing it down and it was a tape emu that was overloading. I did a bandaid fix by turning it's input. gain down and it was fine however, I wasted time chasing it. When I set tracks at -18db, I never have to worry about plugins, busses or renders.

just adjust the gain until is 18db by dragging the top of the track, then use the use view > the peak display settings, and then after every plugin adjust the wet/dry signal, using this method will lead to problems since you are clipping but you are not hearing it because reaper process

Of course, you could just use the master fader also. The only issue with this is that you probably want the same levels on the master buss because you want consistent monitoring levels.

Thanks Kenny. Very instructional and useful as always.

Hi, how did you activate the trim pot on piano's clip at 2:32? This change of level affects the fader or only recorded input level? Thanks

Interesting. But it’s a demonstration of floating point math, inside a specific DAW, using the DAW’s own plugins - not an optional solution for a real-world music mix project with plugins that require properly calibrated gain staging.

Wow this is the most clear explanation for this I have seen.

The issue Ive found is then if you just go with some tracks clipping, yet have groups and a plugin chain, you then have to check various plugins....or select and lower (maybe a reverb clips) which then affects a compressor (use threshold change same amount) etc. Hard to know which plugs will clip! Some will and dont even have meters!

If any plugin in the chain has built in saturation or any emulations of analog gear with a digital reference level I'm quite sure this way of thinking/working is not the best idea..

You finesse that volume plug better than I've been doing.

It seems that going into the red in Reaper's meters isn't really distorting/clipping anything unless you were to render the track in that clipped state. If you were to introduce distortion or saturation into the channel, from a plugin or outboard gear, no amount of amplitude reduction should be able to null the tracks or fix the actual issue. Essentially you've just adjusted amplitude without introducing any distortion, or other wavelength altering effects, into the digital signal path. Of course that doesn't mean you won't distort your monitors or headphones back in the analog world. I think the better place to focus on cleaning up your mix to address and set up your gain staging is at the pre-amp level. After that, many plugin manufacturers will recommend to calibrate at the track level meter so that you don't have issues at the master. It's not just an issue of good practice, but also you retain more control. Trying to fix gain staging issues at the master won't resolve undesirable wavelength alteration, including distortion. You will only be lowering the volume/amplitude of the offending track. If I'm missing something in your example please let me know. It just doesn't seem that you've actually introduced any problem to the tracks in your example. Thanks for taking the time to make this video.

Excelent!!!

Simple and to the point....You Rock!

Mind blown. Thanks for this, Kenny.

Was interesting too see. Although only works like this because it's digital. In analog, once a signal distorts in the signal path, it's permanently distorted in the path,(unless you correct it using other techniques, but will never get back to 100%). Hence how square waves and the like are generated. But was very interesting to see.

really helpful....this way i can choose when to apply the volume adjustment relative to/within/before/after, as opposed to just applying a pre-/post- fader volume adjustment envelope. You always have dope videos, and I trust your advice cus your sound quality on your voice and comp capture is pristine.....pce ;)

Does the volume plugin on the master go after or before the master fx such as a limiter?

So I set my interface levels for my drums mics, now everything in reaper clips, and the tracks are at unity, so now I would use the volume pan smoother to set all the tracks in reaper to proper levels?

To much detail haha I just wanted a simple path to reaching unity Gain with every track and how to do that. Not 40 different ways to Sunday... basically from all my research make sure your almost hitting that with recording volume. Then twerk the gain prior to any mixing make sure it sits as close to -18db for best Plug it performance. This didn’t really show that. But I do get the concepts

I had a student bring me a completely messed up mix recently, and I asked him if he was gain staging his mix because it was all kinds of distorted and nearly unlistenable. He said he had gain staged, and pointed me to your video. And thus, I have found why his mix was distorted. What you are doing is not gain staging - at all. And I have now added your youtube page to the "do not watch" list for students. Trimming at a later point is not gain staging. And while this works in your current Reaper project, it's not proper gain staging and will completely destroy any mix in any other daw that uses -18RMS operating level for plugins. And if you can't hear the distortion on your channel before sending it to the folder, I feel sorry for you man. It's totally distorted.

This is wonderful, Kenny. So much helpful. Thanks a lot. 🙏

For some special reason u dont use the JS Volume Adjustment? I'ts seems like the max volume option its really useful and the pan control its not so important for this use at least. Thanks a lot, its one of my favorites channels, i have learn a lot!.

Thnk u Mr Gain Stage man

This is actually a helpful tip as a temporary "volume fader war" band-aid, but unfortunately I'm afraid you are under the false assumption that "volume" and "gain" are the same thing, when in actual reality? They most certainly are not. No more the same than setting overall levels before tracking, or practicing ACTUAL gain staging during the preparation of mixing. Sure, they are both vital resources seemingly working in tandem to achieve a similar goal, but they are realistically completely different signal path parameters, and should ideally be understood as such. Really digging the channel, as I'm still rather much of a noob in Reaper after transitioning from Adobe Audition. which was my first DAW after transitioning from two inch analog and ADAT tape. Now, what I really need help with is organizing my VST collection. Reaper could of made that a hell of a lot easier by now.

Hi Kenny, I really liked your video, because like you I like that the tracks contain wave lines as wide as possible. But I am starting in Reaper and first of all I would like to ask you how to add a track folder and a MASTER MIX track, like you have here. I am downloading recordings to Reaper, with only voice and acoustics, 32 bit, taken on a Sound Devices MixPre ii. I see you in the video change the gain from a circular icon, in the shape of a knob, located in the upper left corner of the track, but it does not appear to me. Thanks.

Hey man so I'm a little bit of a newbie. I just finished recording a song I've been working on since february in Reaper. Haven't done much mixing or anything. But I noticed when I set all my faders to 0 db that the song was WAY too quiet. Any suggestions? I'm trying to learn more about gain staging but It seems like everything i implement makes the over all volume of the song way too quiet

I am curious as to why you would even want to set the gain on your interface going in to be distorted or is it that if you don't peak on the interface and still does in reaper track you just fix it there. What is the proper level to set the gain on the interface. I record my drums here at home with reaper and can actually turn the gain down all the way and still pick up the sound.

i dont get the point. it still sounds the same volume. i wanna it louder but it peaks. if i use the volume smoother it just sounds lower again. doesnt get red but its lower. so this works only to avoid distortion? what do i do for more volume? my songs play really low compared to any youtube song

Hmm. Good info. I was always micro managing clipping on each track. Now I know it just matters at the master level. Now I will say, there is a "compression effect" when you feed the master too much volume. So it is still important to make sure your track levels are correctly set for the mix.

how is he dragging the gain up on the waveform? i don't have that set up and im always going to item properties and bumping it up and down...his way is more visual and quicker... any help appreciated..

Thx, as always great Prof. Gioia

Brilliant!

how did he get his master trrack to show the volume horiznoitally

Thanks for sharing! where’s your accent from? Reminded me of that AntMan movie guy telling stories 😂

wht can i do, to control levels/volume appears at any track (like -16 -24 etc etc), just appears on the master here.. ????

Thanks for the video. My only question would the plugin create distortion or artifacts by being overloaded?

I get the concept here but why would anyone want their plugin inputs to be clipping?

Ok I NEED HELP! I recorded at -6. No clipping. Obviously after adding all the tracks at -6. Which after plugins etc cause peaking. Should I go in and gain stage or go thru trim and do a prefx volume trim to make everything at -18?

Thank you, sir

Awesome tutorial and thank you.

Very Useful Info Appreciate the Tutorial Kenny My Gain was flying High Now have everything under control 👍

One question: Does this apply to control true peak and isp? By the way, you are so cool men, i really appreciate all your videos, thanks so much, from Ciudad de México.

great info. but. where do you get the gain knob on the file ?? im noob :}

How do you get the dB scale to show up in the TCP?

To fix a clipping master, is it better to use a volume plugin on the master FX channel, or does turning down the master fader effectively accomplish the same thing in Reaper? There is a LOT of controversy about this, but I would love to know from the Reaper expert what the correct answer is. (I have been turning down my master fader to accomplish this and am wondering if I'm losing bits of audio information!) Thank you! Love your videos, and Reaper

One potentially silly question. Everything shown here is either using plugins or sends to reduce gain. Is all this staging done pre-fader, or can you also use folder track channel faders or the master output fader to reduce the levels the same way? I'm assuming channel faders work too, and are easier to grab and adjust than a volume plugin.

Curious how hitting an amp sim at +110db will sound? or even +10db? Most plugin presets are set for a desired amount to work as intended. i particularly love how people in KZfaq videos demonstrating the SSL channel strip will crank the threshold to max in order for it to work, BECAUSE THEY LOWERED THEIR ITEM VOLME TO LOW. lol

Thanks mate! This is really helpful!

How do I add the knob above the track to adjust the gain?

How do you get track and master metering to appear that way?

Mr K, I've recently got into using generic graphic eq a little more, since I can pinpoint better. I was avoiding them under the belief that the Waves and other channel sims would lend more character. I'm getting a little skeptical that channel/desk sims are what they claim. I suspect they're just EQs dressed up in Neve halloween costumes...

OMG...this is a KZfaq channel dedicated to Reaper daw only. He never stated this is the way should be done with analog emulations ...thats why hes not using one of them here. Reaper plugins are completely digital and not modeled after anything. On this video the only thing you see is mathematical calculations not emulations....You add then subtract. Simple. Thats why he suggest to see and not confuse it with the other video "recording levels" where he clearly talk about analog emulation levels.

ABSOLUTE Genius 🙂

This is AWESOME!

Thank you.

What is the fader on the master for then?

So, I can have all my channel faders slamming into the red every second of a mix, and as long as I place a trim before the final limiter there aren't any negative consequences? No noticeable impact on transients/dynamic range and mp3 conversion?

does it work the other way too? like if it's too quiet on the master buss, get the volume plugin to make it louder without distorting. You know, you can always go one louder (Niger Tufnel voice)

So on my Reaper config as is, I currently don't have the volume adjustment icon that you show at 2:49. Currently, I need to hover my cursor over the top of a track and then either drag down or hold shift to drag up. How do I change this to work like in this vid? I can't seem to figure that out

Does this "volume" plugin controls Gain? or the ending Volume?

I am not sure I get it. Is it simply that it doesn't matter where adjust the gain in the chain as long as the final out is at a good level?

What if the recording level was too high to begin with?

Why a volume plugin instead of the fader? Just because it allows you to type in dB levels for explanation? 🤔

does it work on a real analog gears?

How do I get the small gain control dial to appear above an item like his?

Tutorial on how to mix vocal to MP3 track in reaper

Mind = blown. I always believed the myth.

NEEDED THAT

wow thank you.

unfortunately this does not work for all 3rd party plugins.. most likely poor implementation of those plugins, but just so you know! For instance the old Dead Duck plugins that sound great!, but they cannot be fixed later in the FX chain. You need to correct the input level before the plugin.